Program Details

Squash Haven team members are required to commit to regular attendance, participation, and performance on the court, in the classroom, and in the community. New fifth graders will be added to the team each year while we continue to service existing team members through high school.

Click here for Squash Haven rules.
Click here for effort and behavior expectations.

Squash

Every Squash Haven practice begins on the squash court. Students work with Squash Haven staff, members and coaches of the Yale team, and other volunteers on shotmaking technique, footwork, rules of the game, fitness training, and competitive strategy. As team members progress, they have the opportunity to compete in individual squash tournaments and as a team against local schools and other urban squash programs. The goal of our squash program is to teach the game, improve skill and fitness levels, and introduce Squash Haven team members to the competitive squash world in the context of a fun team-oriented environment.

Academics

The second half of Squash Haven weekday sessions are spent in a classroom working with members of our staff and individual tutors on homework and other special academic projects. Squash Haven students are responsible for successfully completing and handing in all assignments and our staff communicates regularly with school leaders about student progress in the classroom. Team members’ work is also tracked through homework logs. The goal of our academic time is to enable our students to improve their study skills, grades, performance, and enjoyment of their schoolwork.

Community Service

Squash Haven depends on the help of community members who donate their time, energy, and money to help make us the best we can be. We believe that in addition to thanking those who help us it is our responsibility to give back to the community. Four or five times during the year the Squash Haven team engages in community service projects with New Haven residents and community organizations who need our help.

Field Trips

We believe that learning is enhanced through exposure to new people, places, and ideas. The Squash Haven team regularly takes advantage of Yale’s and New Haven’s cultural, education, and recreational opportunities through small group and team field trips.  Students have attended performances at the Shubert, Long Wharf, and Yale Repertory Theaters.  They have attended the Peabody and Yale British Art Museums, watched the New Haven Symphony, and taken many other trips where they learned new ideas, made new friends, and saw new places.

Squash Haven team members will attend Yale football and basketball games as a team and with their families.  In addition, high-performing students will be rewarded with trips to New York City to play squash, attend New York Rangers and Mets games, and go to the circus. 

Fitness and Health

At Squash Haven we believe that students can only achieve their best when their efforts are part of a healthy lifestyle. Each Squash Haven practice includes demanding drills and related fitness activities, but we know that a healthy lifestyle needs to be part of what we do off the court as well. Squash Haven squash and fitness sessions are supplemented by a “stairs only” policy, a nutrition program, and fitness and nutrition education.
   

© 2007 Squash Haven